Ghosts From the Past
by Duo no Tsuin
Summary: It's V-Day. (Valentines' Day to most) On the way home from school as the snow falls, Heero and Duo encounter someone eerily resembling a figure from Heero's past. **One-Shot**


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Standard Disclaimers:

I do not own _Gundam Wing_.

However, this story is _my_ intellectual property. Though it isn't snowing today, it snowed last year when I wrote this. If you can think of a better title, then I'd appreciate it. ^_~

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Warnings:

Uhh . . . pretty much a WTF!? style fic. Weird. *shrugs* Some parts could be seen as depressing. Spoilers for Heero's past– the flashbacks in _Endless Waltz_. Possible Yaoi/Shounen-ai implications. 

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Ghosts From the Past

– V-Day Snow

By Duo no Tsuin

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Duo shoved his hands deeper into his leather-sim jacket pockets. "I can't believe it. Snow on Valentines' Day."

"Hn?"

"I hope it doesn't get any worse."

A while later the minuscule flakes had become an epidemic in the sky– tiny ice crystals racing to sting the skin of any that were unfortunately out of the "inner-circle" of licensed teen drivers with legitimate transportation. 

Sure, they could have easily procured some transportation illegally, but it was a holiday for crying out loud. _I can hear the headline now . . . "Car jacking rampage. The end of Valentines'?"_ "Yow. The weather report said nothing about this. Blizzard on Valentines' Day, stay home and forget about it. Wouldn't you agree, Heero?"

Heero didn't answer.

__

Hn. Why would he answer anyway. He's running around in his own little ship-shape world still clad in his tank top and black shorts. Well, not today, though. At least he had sense enough to wear jeans and a jacket. Brrrrrr. Denim. Cold-when-wet cotton. Leather's for me. Just then, Duo's pants decided to ride up on him in an uncomfortable way. _Oh, yeah. I forgot I was wearing those._

Doing a little jig in his black jeans, he hoped Heero didn't notice. He didn't. _Phew, that was close. No, "Baka," comment or anything. How strange. What could he be thinking about?_

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

While Duo held his own forum within his head, Heero was still gone. His mind was drifting, as the snow was still flowing, back to one sad day on L1.

It was his definition of winter– of death. A lifeless and battered puppy named Mary alone in the rubble. He never did find the girl. He hadn't wanted too. His imagination painted the horrific memory for him. The image of the puppy was more than enough for a lifetime.

"Mary, come back, Mary."

Heero looked up as a golden beast pounced on him. It knocked the wind out of him too.

"Heero! You alright?"

"Huh? Wh–"

Sllluuuurrrrrpp!!

"Hey, hey. Looks like Heero found himself a Valentine. Pucker-up for your Valentine, Heero!"

"Mary! Mary, get off of him!"

The smiling golden retriever whined and backed up.

"I'm terribly sorry, (sir.) [a Japanese term that she'd know and using it would surprise him] She just got away from me–" The speaker started when Heero looked up at her. _Those eyes._

Could it be? Did she . . . but I thought– 

"Y-you look familiar. Have we met somewhere before? If we have, I sincerely apologize for not remembering, but I just–"

"Don't apologize, there's no point," Heero cut in as he stood and brushed himself off. However, considering it was snowing, the sidewalk was soaked, and the dog Mary had been walking on it as well, all he touched was wet denim. But he didn't seem to notice.

"Well, then Mary apologizes for knocking you down." 

The dog closed her mouth and titled her head. She looked sad. And sorry.

"Hey, girl," he crouched down and scratched the dog behind the ear, "don't worry about me. There was no real harm done."

Mary observed him a moment more before closing her eyes. While Heero continued scratching, she opened her mouth, hung her tongue out, and panted. 

__

She's smiling, Heero thought.

The girl giggled. "You've found Mary's favorite spot. She's your friend for life."

And then, the blistering cold of the blizzard seemed to halt. It was quiet– almost beautiful.

"I know."

Duo gulped. _Heero just admitted that he had a friend? Snow on Valentines' Day? What's next? Me actually being able to go home to a warm fire with hot chocolate and someone to stay warm and conserve body heat with? Ha, when Hell freezes over!_

"It was nice talking to you, but Mary and I have to get going, don't we girl?"

The dog closed her mouth, turned, and looked up. The corners of her mouth and eyes turned down in a frown.

"Aw, don't look at me like that. You know as well as I do that they're he's waiting for us."

Mary looked at Heero and then back at the girl in protest– still frowning.

__

Is it just me, or am I getting a sneak preview of one of those daytime dramas? Duo thought.

"Mary?" 

The animal in question looked at her owner, sat-up, walked toward Heero, and laid her head on his shoulder. A good-bye hug.

__

I wonder . . . 

And to mock Duo's innermost musings, Heero hugged the retriever back. 

"Take care, Mary. Be a good guard dog."

In a blur of golden fur, Mary turned and stopped at the girl's feet.

"Huh, it's strange. Mary's never acted like that with anyone. But somehow, it's as if she knows you."

"She just found me, that's all."

The blonde girl smiled– blue eyes twinkling. "She does that. She finds lost things for me– all the time. But at least you're not lost anymore."

Heero had lost his breath again. It was almost as if . . . "Hm. Not anymore."

"Well, bye now, take care you two!"

As the girl walked away, the blizzardic winds returned. And in a flurry of snow, they were gone. 

__

I'm found.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Duo didn't believe a lick of what he had seen. _Must be the beginnings of hypothermia._ "That was strange, eh Heero? Heero?"

Heero was still crouched on the ground watching the figures become one with the curtain of haze.

__

What's with him? "Heero . . . " Duo set a shaky hand on Heero's denim clad shoulder. "We'd better be going too."

Heero didn't answer. He just stood up, "Let's go," and started walking once more with his hands concealed within his pockets.

Duo was aghast. "Huh? Hey, hold on. Don't leave without me." With only a couple long strides he was side-to-side with Heero again. There were so many things he wanted to ask Heero since the chance encounter. _For one, why did the girl think she'd seen him before? Not that being Japanese is uncommon. And, come to think of it, did he ever disprove her theory? Not that he is known for his explanations. And since when does Heero like dogs, anyway, and why has he never shown any affection for them at all? Affection. That's what it was. Hn. I never thought I'd see the day when Heero would show any kind of affection. He was so . . . honest about it. For the first time, he actually seemed comfortable. He was almost smiling. Hell, he was smiling. And all because of a golden retriever and a blonde girl with blue eyes– wait a minute. Now why does that combo sound familiar? Of course. Little Miss Stalker Dollie herself. Hm, typical. Another blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty. But no, this girl wasn't like that. Sure, she was pretty, but she was also– how should I put this– way too young for him. Unless he's some kind of weirdo– not that he isn't sometimes weird like the rest of us– but that just doesn't fit. Hell, none of this stuff fits with "Heero" at all._

Not that you know him, really.

But it's not like he volunteers any info on himself.

You've never asked, have you?

Well, I tried a couple of times, but he just ignores me.

Did you even phrase it as a question?

Nani?

You have a habit of stating things rather than asking them.

No, I don't. I'll even try. "So, Heero, you like dogs . . . "

__

I warned you . . .

Aw, what do you know anyway? How about . . . "Where do you suppose that girl knew you from?" _Okay, so that question is based on a few assumptions. It's not like he even heard me, anyway._

"A long time ago."

Duo gasped. _He . . . just answered me._ But Duo knew that Heero would offer no more information. That was just how he was. A couple words on the subject is enough. _But this feels different. It's almost like he wanted to talk about it, but . . . that answer had finality. "A long time ago." Not important now._

You should just keep your big mouth shut.

"Aw, I see how it is, Heero. Were you lovers in a past life or something? Was she your sister? How could you do those things to your sister, you perv–"

__

Now you've done it.

"She reminds me of someone that died."

__

Yes, score one for Duo!

Luck. Pure luck. 

"She had a puppy."

"Really? Whoa, that's kind of coincidental, isn't it?"

"That puppy was named Mary."

Duo stopped in his tracks. And a little voice whistled, _Doo-do-do-doo. Doo-do-do-doo. Wah-uh-wah! You have now entered the twilight zone._

Shut up.

"It was unexpected, but I handled it."

Duo couldn't find a single useful world to say. _Since when has that stopped you? Hm. Hel-lo. Is anybody in there? For crying out loud, did they just switch personalities again?_

"She gave me a flower– yellow. She . . . laughed. Just a child acting as a child should be. Until . . . "

Duo's head shot up. "U-until?"

Heero's fist clenched. "A routine mission went awry on L1. She– Mary didn't make it."

"And the girl?"

"I didn't need to look. I already knew what had happened.

Duo wanted to say something. No. He wished beyond all hope he could say the perfect thing to take that chilled and forlorn edge out of Heero's voice. The catch in his voice was deafening. It was simple. He had made a grave error and he felt remorse. _Huh. It's no wonder that guy won't get "close" to anybody. Who would really want to? Hn. Solo. Hm. What's that line? "It is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all." But it's the same for friends too. There is no greater gift than sharing one moment with another. _

But joyful moments, those are the rarest jewels of them all. They are what make life memorable. And then there's the dark side– like now. The wanting to make it all better and realizing you can't. Your heart cries at the sorrow and your soul mourns.

This is what makes life meaningful.

__

So now that I've "shared" this moment with him . . . now what do I do? He's vulnerable now and I think I've caught some of it. I feel so . . . helpless.

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Owari?

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Well, that's it! Hope this didn't depress you _too_ much. Like I said . . . weird. O.o As always, send all comments, questions to:

duonotsuin@yahoo.com


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